


Secrets of the Reach

by LordNesquik



Series: Ori Works [7]
Category: Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordNesquik/pseuds/LordNesquik
Summary: Some spirits prefer the cold.Kani does not.
Series: Ori Works [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057112
Kudos: 5





	Secrets of the Reach

**Author's Note:**

> Out of the blue

When Kani was a child, they never believed ice and snow would make for interesting terrain.

They still didn’t.

It was undeniably unique. Blue and white dominated the landscape around them like it did no other, with the rocky, snow-covered landscape being refracted through spikes of clear ice. The effect was akin to holding reading glasses a distance away from one’s face. Sharp, cold breezes assailed their thin fur coat and numbed their nose. Their tall, floppy ears had lost their feeling when they entered the Reach, though Kani still shook them from time to time, watching the accumulated snow fall to the ground.

Kani stood at the entrance of a winding valley between three of the Reach’s steepest mountains. They weren’t the tallest, but their sharp and steep rock faces made travelling up them one of Kani’s least favorite adventures. Arguably scarier was traversing the valley between the three. The resolute pine trees that grew from the rocky soil made navigation next to impossible and obscured view of rockslides, which were a common threat.

The rubble left behind by rockslides was distinctive and helpful with navigation. Being caught under one, however, would make most forms of navigation irrelevant, Kani estimated.

With a sigh, they trudged through the snow and into the trees. The last few plants for the Lupo’s set of rare Reach botanical samples were in the valley, and it wasn’t a bounty they were going to quit on now.

The start of Kani’s expedition into the valley was as dull as the rest of their escapades into the Reach. They’d track down a patch of short, strangely colored grasses, icy flowers, or any of the other plants on their mental list. Once Kani was sure they could take a sample without killing it, they would hunch around the plant to shield it from the wind as they cut a piece away.

Their results varied. One plant refused to cooperate and Kani nicked their paw as they roughly cut it away. Another time, they lost their balance, almost crushing a delicate shrub as they stumbled onto the wet, cold ground. Each sample was carefully preserved between two adhesive blocks of clay. Kani’s collection grew as they worked and each success revitalized their resolve.

As Kani attempted to collect their fourth sample, a noise rumbled from the mountain behind them. For a moment, they looked up from their work with a curious expression. It echoed through the canyon once more before something deep inside Kani made sense of what it was.

In an instant, they snapped into a standing position, their eyes wide open. They dove away from the sound, nearly stumbling over their legs several times as they pushed themselves upright. As they did, gargantuan shards of rock slid down the two mountains surrounding where Kani had just been crouching.

Kani turned their head forwards just in time to see a tree they were about to slam directly into. Wired on pure fear, Kani’s body threw itself out of the way, narrowly avoiding the trunk and sliding roughly against the soil.

As they came to a stop, Kani pulled their ears from the snow, turning their head in every direction to listen for any more sounds of collapsing rock.

None came.

After the longest moment of Kani’s life, they lowered their head back into the snow. Subconsciously, they reached for their bag, but their paw swung right through where it should be on their hip.

Panic filling Kani once more, they sat upright by pushing their paws onto the rocky soil behind their back. They saw the rockslide in the distance, but couldn’t see their bag anywhere near it, and after a moment of searching, they noticed a hint of color at the edge of their vision.

Kani snapped their head to the side. Their eyes landed squarely on the familiar brown bag with strap lying beside them, top still securely tied on.

With a relieved sigh, Kani dropped their arms and let their head fall to the ground. It knocked painfully against a rock, and they immediately sat back up, rubbing the back of their head with a paw.

Kani rolled over and pushed themselves onto their hooves. They picked up their bag, slinging it over their shoulders and patting it reassuringly.

After a moment, Kani gasped quietly in realization and checked inside. Their plant sampling tools or map were nowhere inside, and after a moment they distinctly recalled leaving them under the rockslide. Kani sighed hard, pressed their paw against their eyes, and moved on to find a way out of the valley.

  
After looking around and having no recollection of where they were, Kani realized how difficult that would be. Realizing how lost they were, Kani stretched wide and clambered their way up a tree, desperately pulling between branches to ascend higher.

From the top of the snow-caked pine, Kani could see a disappointingly short distance out. The three hills of rock surrounding them meant Kani must be in the center of the valley, but they couldn’t see far enough through the snow to discern which direction would bring them back to the Glades. All Kani could do was either retrace their steps by climbing over the rockslide or take another path and hope it went in a similar direction.

Kani was an experienced explorer, but not a survivalist. They only had two days’ worth of resources at best and had no idea how to subsist in the barren environment of the Reach.

With a sigh, they carefully slid back down the tree, shaking its branches. Kani was showered with snow as their hooves hit the ground. They shook their head hard to sling the snowflakes off and began marching back towards the rockslide.

The sound of their hooves dragging through snow weighed on Kani’s ears. The once simply boring sights of the icy hills now seemed threatening, and the tips of their paws were going numb. A day of activity in the freezing Reach air was beginning to slow Kani’s steps, but they pushed forward with the notion of self-preservation.

As they reached the towering rockslide that blocked their way home, Kani stopped, set one paw against it, and sighed deeply. Their ears were completely numb as they flopped down over their eyes.

Despite this, and despite Kani being still, the sound of hooves pushing through snow continued to echo in their ears. Kani pushed their other paw against their eyes and massaged their face.

The echo only grew clearer, as if moving towards them.

Another wave of fear gradually washed over Kani. Their ears stood on end and they turned around so that their back pressed against the sharp rocks. They scanned their head from side to side to look for a source, but all they could see was a few brown pine trunks and the wall of white that blocked their sight.

“If you try that, you’ll be rock-climbing without being able to see your paws before you reach the top.”

The sure-sounding and even-toned voice rang clearly towards Kani from somewhere to their left. Before they could even turn their head to look, a frigid paw set itself gently on their shoulder. Kani flinched away from the touch, and as they turned back towards it, their eyes landed on another spirit.

“I’m Eleo,” he spoke evenly. He stood taller than Kani, though Kani’s ears extended far above his. His coat of fur was thick, giving him a resolute look. “You look lost.”

“We’re both in the same place, you know,” Kani stammered, struggling to control their frozen mouth.

“Being located somewhere isn’t the only part of being there,” Eleo countered with an inquiring look, “but regardless neither of us will want to be here for much longer.”

“I just want to go back to the Glades. Do you know the way?” Kani asked with as much tact as they could muster.

“I do, but every path out of the Reach from here won’t be passable without daylight.”

“I’m stuck, then?” Kani sputtered.

“In the essential sense, yes,” Eleo agreed, “but I’m willing to make being stuck less distressful.”

“What do you mean? What are you planning?” Kani asked in an accusatory tone, their patience snapping in an instant.

“My camp isn’t far from here. I’ll start a fire, you can sleep there,” Eleo explained slowly.

“And why should I trust a stranger that camps in the Reach?”

Eleo bobbed his head from side to side, considering the question.

“I think you should raise your opinion of Baur’s Reach,” Eleo answered, a hint of surprise in his voice. “Am I so nefarious just for making my home here? It’s as natural as anyplace else.”

Kani almost started again, but they stumbled over their words. The numbness on their lips reminded them of the inhospitable cold of the Reach at midnight. They sighed, their long breath lingering in the air and blocking their vision.

“Looks like it’s up to you to impress me,” Kani conceded. “I’ll follow you to this camp.”

* * *

Eleo’s journey was short, but Kani was sure to follow close behind. They weaved between the resolute pine trees as they grew thicker and more common. Kani often lost sight of Eleo and had to follow the sound of his hooves against the patchy snow. The valley’s cold was beginning to weasel its way below Kani’s fur and into their joints, dulling their reactions and slowing their movements.

As they travelled, the white wall of snowfall closed in around them ever-further. The hint of hope and warmth that sunlight brought seemed to disappear all at once as the shadow of the surrounding peaks fell over Eleo and Kani. All they could see was the few trees surrounding them and the falling snow that beat at their weary body and mind.

“This isn’t a long trip, is it?” Kani asked desperately, walking ever slower.

“Not any longer than this,” Eleo responded as he picked up his pace, fading out of view. Kani made a final push towards Eleo’s voice.

After a few steps, a plume of smoke blew straight into Kani’s face. They coughed, but the warmth it brought was deeply welcome, and they practically fell towards it.

The camp Kani walked up to was quaint. A few split logs sat upturned around a fire, over which a clay pot sat, hung under a stand of three sticks. Some liquid inside slowly boiled.

What was far more interesting, however, was the formation it was built into. The base of the mountain appeared to have been carved away as if it had been cut into cross-section. A cliff of rock twice Kani’s height remained where a slope of rock had once clearly been. Beyond it, the mountain continued upwards far beyond Kani’s vision, and below it, ice covered the smooth bedrock.

“What happened here?” Kani inquired stupendously as they craned their neck to look around.

“A glacier slid through this valley.” Eleo answered easily, taking a mortar and pestle from the ground, “It carved into the mountains with an immeasurable amount of ice. Cliffs like these are the best windbreak near here.”

“I guess it would be,” Kani agreed, kicking one of the logs around the camp closer to the fire and settling onto it. Eleo grabbed a bundle of roots and leaves from beside the fire, removing a thick root and setting it into the mortar.

“I’ve never seen another spirit this far into the Reach,” Kani mentioned after moving as close to the fire as they could without being set alight. Instantly, sense began to return to their paws, snout, and ears. Whatever remark they’d planned next was overwritten by a deep sigh of relief. Eleo chuckled heartily at the sight.

“Nor have I,” Eleo answered as he finished laughing, a warm smile spreading on his face.

“And you said you made your home out here?” Kani continued once they’d regained their composure.

“I don’t believe _home_ is the correct word for it,” Eleo clarified, leaning his head in consideration. “My camp moves often. I do not have a home, so much as one’s home is one location.”

“It is for most.”

“Then I am unlike most, though I think you already deduced that,” Eleo agreed, shooting Kani a sly grin.

“Well, now I’ve got proof, but it doesn’t answer my question,” Kani rebuked. “What are you out here for? Surely, you know about the Glades.”

“I know of everything in Niwen,” Eleo confirmed, pouring the root he’d ground into the boiling pot and taking another from the bundle. “I grew up by the Wellspring like any other spirit, but my heart always drew to the Reach. I never felt better than when I was my nights in it, charting the hills.”

“I’m also an explorer, although I’ll concede I’m not half as skilled as you must be. _I_ hate the Reach, but even if you somehow enjoy it, I don’t see why you’d move out here. The Glades – or anywhere else in Niwen – would be so much safer.”

Eleo gave Kani a friendly smirk. He remained silent, pouring another ingredient into the pot of water, and standing up to carefully remove the pot from the fire. He set it on the ground before reaching beside it and collecting a stack of four clay mugs, which he split into two pairs.

“It’s boiling right now,” Eleo started, “but in a moment, I insist you try it. It’ll warm you up quicker than the fire alone.”

“Alright,” Kani agreed with skeptical gratitude. “Still, I want to know more.”

“How about you talk while the tea cools?” Eleo prompted.

“About what?” Kani responded, clearly surprised by the question.

“Yourself,” Eleo answered, gesturing his paw towards them as if it were obvious. “You were intent on asking about what I was doing in the Reach, so what are you doing here if you dislike it so?”

Kani scoffed, but at an expectant glance from Eleo, they continued onwards.

“I’ve already told you, I’m an explorer. Lupo’s giving a large bounty for a set of plant samples from the Reach. You said you charted the Reach – surely, you worked for Lupo? Nobody else is interested enough in mapmaking to pay for it.”

“I did, though you’ve likely never heard of me because Lupo doesn’t talk about me anymore.”

Kani drew a breath to continue but stopped just before they spoke. They looked down at the pot of tea between them and Eleo, took a mug from their pair, and carefully filled it without setting their paw in the tea itself. With a grin, they brought it up to their snout, before stopping an instant before taking a sip.

“Uhm, this tea won’t do anything to me, will-”

“Absolutely not,” Eleo interrupted, sounding offended. “Lay off it. I’m not uncivilized.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kani muttered under their breath before taking a drink. An instant after they took the mug away from their snout, they drew it right back, proceeding to drink the entire mug without another breath. As they finished, they set the mug down and sighed deeply, looking back up at Eleo, who stared at them with an expression somewhere between pride and confusion.

“I’ve never heard of anything Lupo doesn’t talk about,” Kani inquired with a curious tone. Eleo shook his head in bewilderment and proceeded to answer.

“And why do I owe you an answer? I saved you from the cold, brought you to my camp, and gave you a fire to stay the night by.”

Kani tilted their head.

“I drank your tea,” they responded matter-of-factly.

Eleo nodded their head from side to side in consideration.

“Have you ever felt so strangled by your problems that it feels as if there’s no way out?” Eleo asked in a deeper, quieter tone. “As if everything is so horrendously, irreparably wrong, that all that you do is just an extension of the errors. And all at once, you get the feeling that you’re stuck in the quintessence of hopeless suffering and nothing you could ever do will fix it.”

A silence fell between the two. Eleo’s eyes were toward the fire, but his gaze was distant. Kani took a moment to think before drawing breath.

“Sometimes,” Kani answered, their tone far less serious, “though it usually subsides overnight.”

“It did for me too, for some time,” Eleo continued, “but not forever. I left for the Reach to escape from it without warning anyone.”

“Then I suppose I understand,” Kani agreed. “If it’s any reassurance, I believe things have improved greatly since you might’ve left. The Glades are a better place to be than anywhere in the Reach, and the individuals within are much friendlier than they once were.”

“Are they?” Eleo wondered aloud. Kani nodded.

“Although,” they started after a moment, “if you’re going to lead me back to the Glades, there’s no reason you couldn’t see for yourself.”

Eleo hesitated for an anxious moment, an expression of hesitation on his face.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to look,” he agreed.

“Great!” Kani echoed, crouching down to set their bag on top of the log, making it slightly more comfortable than uncovered bark. They set their head on it and sprawled out against the cold ground. “I can show you around all the new expansions. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

“If it were only such an entertaining prospect to me,” Eleo sighed. “Are there any recent events I should know about? Anything that might mean someone wouldn’t have the time of day to speak with me?”

“Things have been gracefully slow lately,” Kani answered over a high, mewling yawn. Their ears relaxed over the side of the log, and they adjusted their head to pull them off the icy ground behind them. “You should have plenty of time to talk about whatever it is you did, which can’t possibly be as bad as you’re playing it up to be.”

“Then all I can do is hope for the best,” Eleo considered. “I should thank you.”

Kani’s eyelids had grown too heavy to hold open, so they settled into their uncomfortable rest and relaxed. They raised a paw and gave Eleo a dismissive gesture.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kani spoke in a deeply fatigued tone. “I certainly won’t. Lupo will give his life in Spirit Light for the rarer plants from the Reach, and I’ve nearly got a whole set of them. Soon as I make it out of this, I’ll be done with exploring for a while.”

“Sounds like Lupo alright,” Eleo said with a pained smile as he collected Kani’s mugs, setting them on his side of the fire. “But I shouldn’t keep you up with my reminiscing.”

“With your voice, you couldn’t if you tried,” Kani clarified, “but the sentiment of silence is welcome.”

Eleo nodded and took a mug from his stack, filling it with tea. He took a long sip and looked thoughtfully over Kani into the darkness of the midnight Reach.

Soon after, Kani’s breathing grew slower as they fell asleep. Eleo glanced at them once more, seeing their ears now entirely limp against the log, before turning around to lie down himself.

**Author's Note:**

> I hate to say this, but I've no clue when or if I'll finish this. I hope it was worth reading on its own.


End file.
